Vehicular Safety Monitoring

Abstract

A computerized method of vehicular safety monitoring includes determining a driver-associated state based on data from one or more sensors of a vehicle. At least one sensor captures a cabin of the vehicle. The method includes comparing the driver-associated state to one or more predefined rules. The method includes, in response to detection of a violation of a rule of the one or more rules, triggering a warning event.

1 . A computerized method of vehicular safety monitoring, the method comprising:
 determining a driver-associated state based on data from one or more sensors of a vehicle, wherein at least one sensor captures a cabin of the vehicle;   comparing the driver-associated state to one or more predefined rules; and   in response to detection of a violation of a rule of the one or more rules, triggering a warning event.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 a sensor of the one or more sensors is an onboard camera; and 
 determining the driver-associated state includes:
 obtaining image data from the onboard camera; 
 determining, based on the image data, at least one of: a seating pose of a driver of the vehicle, an interaction of the driver with a person and/or with an object in the vehicle, and a type of an object placed within the cabin; and 
 determining the driver-associated state based on at least one of: the seating pose of the driver of the vehicle, the interaction of the driver with the person and/or with the object in the vehicle, and the type of the object placed within the cabin. 
 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining the driver-associated state further includes:
 determining at least one of: a number of persons in the cabin, an age of one or more persons, activities of one or more persons, a seat belt status of one or more persons, and alcohol usage and/or intoxication of one or more persons; and 
 determining the driver-associated state based on at least one of: the number of persons in the cabin, the age of one or more persons, the activities of one or more persons, the seat belt status of one or more persons, and the alcohol usage and/or intoxication of one or more persons. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 determining the driver-associated state is further based on additional vehicle data, and 
 the additional vehicle data includes input from further vehicle sensors, a state of an advanced driver assistance system, and/or a state of an onboard infotainment system. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the one or more rules concern at least one of:
 an existence of a co-driver; 
 a maximum number of persons in the vehicle; 
 phone usage while driving; 
 a maximum speed-limit; 
 an area allowed for driving; and 
 a time period allowed for driving. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the warning event is at least one of: an email sent to an email address associated with the vehicle, a message sent to an application connected with the vehicle, a warning sound outputted from onboard speakers, a warning light at a dashboard of the vehicle, and a warning message displayed on an infotainment system of the vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising determining a warning level associated with the violation of a rule of the one or more rules,
 wherein the warning level defines the warning event to be triggered. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising, in response to the violation of the one or more rules, interacting with one or more vehicle driving control systems. 
     
     
         9 . A system of vehicular safety monitoring, the system comprising:
 one or more sensors, wherein at least one sensor is configured to capture a cabin of a vehicle;   a vehicle monitoring compute unit configured to:
 determine a driver-associated state based on data from one or more sensors of the vehicle; and 
 compare the driver-associated state to one or more predefined rules; and 
   a communication unit configured to, in response to detection of a violation of a rule of the one or more rules, triggering a warning event.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9  wherein:
 a cabin sensor of the one or more sensors is an onboard camera, and 
 the vehicle monitoring compute unit is further, for determining the driver-associated state, configured to:
 obtain image data from the onboard camera; 
 determine, based on the image data, at least one of: a seating pose of a driver of the vehicle, an interaction of the driver with a person and/or with an object in the vehicle, and a type of an object placed within the cabin; and 
 determine the driver-associated state based on at least one of: the seating pose of the driver of the vehicle, the interaction of the driver with the person and/or with the object in the vehicle, and the type of the object placed within the cabin. 
 
 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9  wherein the vehicle monitoring compute unit is further, for determining the driver-associated state, configured to:
 determine at least one of: a number of persons in the cabin, an age of one or more persons, activities of one or more persons, a seat belt status of one or more persons, and alcohol usage and/or intoxication of one or more persons; and 
 determine the driver-associated state further based on at least one of: the number of persons in the cabin, the age of one or more persons, the activities of one or more persons, the seat belt status of one or more persons, and the alcohol usage and/or intoxication of one or more persons. 
 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9  wherein:
 the vehicle monitoring compute unit is further configured to determine the driver-associated state based on additional vehicle data, and 
 the additional vehicle data includes input from further vehicle sensors, a state of an advanced driver assistance system, and/or a state of an onboard infotainment system. 
 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9  wherein, in response to the violation of the one or more rules, the vehicle monitoring compute unit is configured to interact with one or more vehicle driving control systems. 
     
     
         14 . A vehicle comprising:
 the system of  claim 9 .   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions including:
 determining a driver-associated state based on data from one or more sensors of a vehicle, wherein at least one sensor captures a cabin of the vehicle;   comparing the driver-associated state to one or more predefined rules; and   in response to detection of a violation of a rule of the one or more rules, triggering a warning event.